Asked 7/18/17 – Dallas, TX

Asking for a friend. Let’s say, hypothetically, a person was caught for alleged shoplifting at a retail store. The alleged item(s) were recovered by the retailer. The police was not involved and there is no criminal proceeding pending. A signature was obtained by the retailer for permission to obtain personal information such as ID, SSN, picture…etc. That person later received a civil claim/demand letter that demands several hundred dollars in payment.
Questions:
1.) Is paying the demand what gets that person on the national retail theft database?
2.) The majority opinion seems to be not to pay, is this case any different?
3.) There is a very remote chance the retailer can bring about a civil suit against the alleged shoplifter, would paying the demand significantly change the chance of such civil suit?
4.) Say that person is up for some sort of licensing renewal/application in a year or two, would that change the decision to pay or not pay the civil demand?

Answer

1) Paying the civil demand has no effect on whether a person is placed on the national retail database. The person was placed on the database before she/he left the store.
2) This case is no different than any other shoplifting case. All attorneys will advise not to pay the civil demand.
3) The civil demand letter is basically a letter of offer and compromise of a potential civil claim. I have not reviewed the letter in this specific case, but paying the amount requested will generally bar any subsequent civil suit arising from the incident.
4) Paying the civil demand has no bearing on a person’s criminal record.